fishdude
Apr 15, 2006, 05:57 PM
I was standing by my workbench on Monday, repairing my Algebra when I looked up and saw it. My old 100S model, not flown since the flat fields of Norfolk in the early eighties, I don’t even remember her name.
I fetched a ladder and gently took her down. She was in a sorry state, no receiver, rudder canted at 15 degrees, solarfilm slack and punctured, visible repairs from my hot glue gun (No superglues back then). and covered in 20 years of dust.
Why not I thought, no wind today, perhaps she can still do a turn.
I washed her down and tried joining the wings; a quick rubdown with emery on the wing joiners soon had the years of rust away and the wings joined. I fashioned a new canopy from a sheet of balsa.
She was looking like a glider again, albeit an old scruffy one.
The receiver and battery were installed and the transmitter programmed. Servo reverse on elevator, that’s it no mixers, flaps, or dual rates.
I headed for the slope armed with lead for trimming.
I gently put her together, and applied her rubber bands. No wing retaining bolts for her.
I’m sure she’s put on weight since I last flew her, she’s much heavier than my composite models, even so I had to put 2 ounces of lead in her nose to balance where I guessed she should.
I switched on for a quick trim on the flat, her rudder servo was twitching. Should I go back and sort it out? No she’ll be alright, after all she’s not a performance model.
A few check flights and the trim seemed to be in the right place, my nose weight guess seems to have been about right.
O.K. lets see what she can do.
A hefty launch into nil wind and……… nothing, a 50 ft climb down the hill.
Lets try again, .. nothing and another long walk. Perhaps she’s not got it in her, after all there’s a lot to be said for modern composites.
I wait. Patiently for the wind to turn, a slight breeze on the slope, a run , a launch, still nothing. Perhaps I’m getting old too.
5 or 6 attempts later still nothing, and I’m definitely getting old, running up that hill again takes it out of me.
One last go, a slight breeze behind me but time to go home anyway.
Off she goes, down, down, down, no wait!, Did that wing lift up or is it stick lift?, lets circle and see. Nothing, but she’s not lost height. Circle again, still not lost any height, again, Yes definitely she’s going up!
Slowly, maybe 3 feet a turn but going up she is. After 7 or 8 turns she’s above the horizon and going up and up and up.
I let her settle into a gentle thermal turn, barely moving the controls, She’s in her element now. Birds are following me!, I must be doing something right.
With each turn the rate of climb accelerates.
I now have enough height to head back to the flat (after all, that’s where she’s at home) and she flys overhead. She keeps turning going higher and higher. Just a speck now, the size of a pinhead, beneath the clear blue sky.
Then it dawns on me, I’m going to loose her. She’s very fragile see, no airbrakes or spoilers either. I thought for a moment of just letting her fly free, but then that passed.
Think!, you must have done this in the past, inverted? No the wings aren’t strong enough, airbrakes!, none, I cant just dive down and pull up like my composite missile, shell fall apart.
Spin? yes that’s it!, gently back on the elevator, gently, gently, then bang, full rudder.
I can hardly see her, but can just make out her dropping, Spiral dive? No a fully developed spin, no strain on her fragile wings. I count them, 1, 2, 3, 4, ….38 and now she’s at a safe height. I pull out and she gently heads back to the slope again.
A few exploratory legs and she’s found lift again, but this time I bring her into land as I’m getting old too. A couple of gentle S turns and she’s down at my feet.
44 mins 23 seconds, its not a world record but still pretty good for an old girl in nil wind.
I’ve got her in front of me now looking at the bent rudder, the punctured solarfilm, and missing canopy. If I just sort out that servo, re-cover her, maybe beef up the wings.
No, on second thoughts Ill just leave her as she is.
I fetched a ladder and gently took her down. She was in a sorry state, no receiver, rudder canted at 15 degrees, solarfilm slack and punctured, visible repairs from my hot glue gun (No superglues back then). and covered in 20 years of dust.
Why not I thought, no wind today, perhaps she can still do a turn.
I washed her down and tried joining the wings; a quick rubdown with emery on the wing joiners soon had the years of rust away and the wings joined. I fashioned a new canopy from a sheet of balsa.
She was looking like a glider again, albeit an old scruffy one.
The receiver and battery were installed and the transmitter programmed. Servo reverse on elevator, that’s it no mixers, flaps, or dual rates.
I headed for the slope armed with lead for trimming.
I gently put her together, and applied her rubber bands. No wing retaining bolts for her.
I’m sure she’s put on weight since I last flew her, she’s much heavier than my composite models, even so I had to put 2 ounces of lead in her nose to balance where I guessed she should.
I switched on for a quick trim on the flat, her rudder servo was twitching. Should I go back and sort it out? No she’ll be alright, after all she’s not a performance model.
A few check flights and the trim seemed to be in the right place, my nose weight guess seems to have been about right.
O.K. lets see what she can do.
A hefty launch into nil wind and……… nothing, a 50 ft climb down the hill.
Lets try again, .. nothing and another long walk. Perhaps she’s not got it in her, after all there’s a lot to be said for modern composites.
I wait. Patiently for the wind to turn, a slight breeze on the slope, a run , a launch, still nothing. Perhaps I’m getting old too.
5 or 6 attempts later still nothing, and I’m definitely getting old, running up that hill again takes it out of me.
One last go, a slight breeze behind me but time to go home anyway.
Off she goes, down, down, down, no wait!, Did that wing lift up or is it stick lift?, lets circle and see. Nothing, but she’s not lost height. Circle again, still not lost any height, again, Yes definitely she’s going up!
Slowly, maybe 3 feet a turn but going up she is. After 7 or 8 turns she’s above the horizon and going up and up and up.
I let her settle into a gentle thermal turn, barely moving the controls, She’s in her element now. Birds are following me!, I must be doing something right.
With each turn the rate of climb accelerates.
I now have enough height to head back to the flat (after all, that’s where she’s at home) and she flys overhead. She keeps turning going higher and higher. Just a speck now, the size of a pinhead, beneath the clear blue sky.
Then it dawns on me, I’m going to loose her. She’s very fragile see, no airbrakes or spoilers either. I thought for a moment of just letting her fly free, but then that passed.
Think!, you must have done this in the past, inverted? No the wings aren’t strong enough, airbrakes!, none, I cant just dive down and pull up like my composite missile, shell fall apart.
Spin? yes that’s it!, gently back on the elevator, gently, gently, then bang, full rudder.
I can hardly see her, but can just make out her dropping, Spiral dive? No a fully developed spin, no strain on her fragile wings. I count them, 1, 2, 3, 4, ….38 and now she’s at a safe height. I pull out and she gently heads back to the slope again.
A few exploratory legs and she’s found lift again, but this time I bring her into land as I’m getting old too. A couple of gentle S turns and she’s down at my feet.
44 mins 23 seconds, its not a world record but still pretty good for an old girl in nil wind.
I’ve got her in front of me now looking at the bent rudder, the punctured solarfilm, and missing canopy. If I just sort out that servo, re-cover her, maybe beef up the wings.
No, on second thoughts Ill just leave her as she is.